


Getting Warmer

by mizface



Series: djinn!Ray [5]
Category: due South
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-22
Updated: 2013-01-22
Packaged: 2017-11-26 10:27:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/649576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mizface/pseuds/mizface
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If Ray didn’t want to acknowledge being cold, Fraser wasn’t going to, either.  He’d assume it was a courtesy, and take the resulting quiet as the gift it was.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Getting Warmer

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hazelwho](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hazelwho/gifts).



Fraser bit back a sigh as he glanced up from his reading to see Ray try to hide the fact that he was inching closer to the fire. For all Ray’s running commentary on just what was wrong with Fraser and his cabin, and how he could improve it with a wave of his hand, the fact that he _wasn’t_ complaining stuck out.

But if Ray didn’t want to acknowledge being cold, Fraser wasn’t going to, either. He’d assume it was a courtesy, and take the resulting quiet as the gift it was.

That is, until he saw Ray shiver violently, despite being dressed in layers and under a blanket. When he shot a longing glance over toward the firewood, Fraser could no longer pretend.

“You could put on another log if you’re cold,” Fraser pointed out casually, not putting down his book.

Ray glared at Fraser, then the fire, then Fraser again. “It’s fine,” he said, crossing his arms tightly over his chest. The move knocked the blanket off his shoulders and Ray grabbed for it frantically. 

“It obviously is _not_ fine,” Fraser replied, hoping Ray could hear the exasperation he felt at the dishonesty of that statement. “You’re cold, and you don’t need to be.”

“You aren’t cold,” Ray pointed out, tone accusatory.

“I was born and raised here. I’m used to it.” 

Ray looked away, mumbling something Fraser couldn’t catch, then spent a long minute fussing with the blanket before throwing it off and standing up to pace. Fraser let him be. Even though they’d only known each other a scarce handful of weeks, he knew Ray needed to move when he was working through something. Fraser went back to reading, but looked up often enough for Ray to be able to catch his eye, should he want Fraser’s attention.

After a few minutes, Ray dropped down onto the couch next to Fraser and sighed heavily. “It doesn’t even occur to you to _wish_ I could be warmer, does it?”

Fraser marked his place and put the book on the side table. This wasn’t their normal argument about magic – Fraser could hear a new uncertainty in Ray’s tone. There was something he wanted to understand. Fraser wasn’t sure what it was, but that didn’t stop him from answering as honestly as he could. 

“I wouldn’t say that exactly,” he started, choosing his words carefully. “Right after I found you, those first weeks, the reality of magic was so new to me that I would never have thought to wish for anything, not as a viable option.”

“But now?” Ray pressed.

“It’s a combination of things, I suppose.” Ray waited, watching Fraser closely; Fraser found the intensity of Ray’s gaze, as well as his close proximity, disconcerting. “I don’t want it to be my first choice, to rely on it. I never had it in my life before you, and I got by just fine. ”

“But I’m here now, and it’s what I do best,” Ray replied, and Fraser was surprised to hear more confusion than anger in his tone. Their previous conversations on the subject had never stayed civil this long.

“I see no reason to use magic when there are other means of achieving my objectives. It’s unfair to you. It -”

Ray held up his hand. “I know you keep saying that, I and keep telling you you’re wrong, and then we fight and don’t get anywhere.” He waited, still calm and Fraser nodded; that had been their pattern to date. “So why won’t you believe me?” Ray asked. “Is it a trust thing? Because I know I play around a lot, but that doesn’t mean I’d let anything bad happen to you.”

“It isn’t about trust,” Fraser told him, meaning it. “But as I’ve said before, to order you about, to act as if I own you, is abhorrent to me.” It was his turn to hold up a hand to forestall Ray’s protest. “And that won’t change. I refuse to treat you like less than a person, just because it’s what you’re used to.” It wasn’t anything he hadn’t said before, but maybe this time Ray would hear it. “You could, _should_ have more. This situation is an excellent example. I shouldn’t have to wish for your comfort, as if you’re unable to take care of yourself.” 

Ray looked toward the fire; Fraser could see it dancing in his eyes. “But what if I don’t want more?” Ray asked in a near whisper. “What if I can’t do it?”

Fraser wanted very much to grab Ray’s hand in comfort, or shake him by the shoulders, just _something_ to make him understand the truth of his worth. “What did you do before? Surely you didn’t have to rely on the people who owned you for everything.” 

Ray’s next words only strengthened the feeling. “I kind of did,” Ray shrugged. “I mean, I haven’t always been a djinn, but it’s been so long I don’t really remember how to be anything else. If I’m in my bottle, it’s kind of like being in limbo, waiting for something to do. As for when I’m out… well, you’re the first mas- person to want me around for more than wishes.”

Fraser bit back the questions he wanted to ask, about Ray’s history, what brought him to these circumstances. But he grabbed onto the thought that if Ray hadn’t always been a djinn… "So there’s a way you could be freed,” he started, but Ray shook his head, fear in his eyes.

“Don’t – you can’t talk about that,” he insisted. “It’s not how things work. I am what I am, and there’s no changing it. Thinking otherwise is dangerous.”

“But surely there’s something that can be done.”

“There isn’t,” Ray answered decisively, then slumped, looking dejected. “But I get why you’d want it. I mean, it’s the easiest, most guilt-free way to get rid of me, right?”

“That’s not it at all.”

Ray shot him a dubious look. “What then? Why would you want me to be free?”

“Because then perhaps -” _Perhaps you’ll stop seeing me as someone you_ have _to be around, and start seeing me as someone you_ want _to be around,_ Fraser stopped himself from finishing; both the thought and the strength of emotion behind it shocked him. He stayed silent, no idea how Ray would react if the words were actually said. Or how he _wanted_ Ray to react, for that matter.

“Perhaps?” Ray asked after a minute, his tone surprisingly gentle.

The reply Fraser settled on felt like a half-truth, but it was the best he could offer. “Perhaps then, when we were equals, we could truly be friends.”

Ray sat back, looking surprised at the answer, and Fraser’s heart ached for him. Was the idea of friendship so foreign a concept?

“Don’t know that I’ve had a friend in a very long time,” Ray answered after a long silence. His gaze was locked on his hands on his lap, and he was twisting a plain silver band on his right ring finger. Fraser wondered about its origin, but knew it wasn’t the time to ask.

He let himself reach over, his fingers feeling hot where they touched Ray’s cold hand. “Then maybe, if you’d like, it’s time you had one. Not that had much experience myself, but I’d like to try. If you would.”

Ray smiled almost shyly and nodded. “I think… I _know_ I would.” He shivered again, and the smile quickly morphed into a scowl, though Fraser could see humor dancing in Ray’s eyes. “So could you help a friend out here and figure out a way I can warm up that we can both agree to?”

Fraser got up to put on another log. “This is enough for me. If you need something more to be comfortable and happy… then I suppose as your _friend_ I wish you’d take care of it.” He thought for a moment, then added, “And not only right now. Are you able to make changes to your accommodations?”

Ray nodded, and Fraser grinned. “Then I wish you’d make your bottle a place you wanted to be. Not because I want to be rid of you, but so you’ll have a place of your own, a retreat, with all the comforts you desire.”

And if Ray’s resulting smile sparked a glimmer of a wish that there was more he personally could do to grant those wishes, well, Fraser kept that to himself.


End file.
